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ASTRA
Chapter 4 — The Boy Who Outgrew His Name
Five days.
Five days of silence inside Cryo Chamber 07.
Five days of unstable readings that no one could explain.
His neural patterns weren't human anymore.
But they weren't fully Angel either.
They fluctuated.
As if something inside him was reorganizing.
Rewriting.
---
The pod hissed open.
Cold vapor spilled across the floor.
Doctors rushed forward with scanners ready.
"Kazuo Ardent, can you hear me?"
A figure stepped out of the chamber.
And the room went silent.
He was taller.
Not by much — but noticeably.
Not bulky anymore.
Refined.
Sculpted.
Like something carved from living marble.
Height: 190 cm (6'3) — towering yet graceful, posture naturally commanding.
Weight: roughly 110 kg — leaner in appearance, but impossibly dense with coiled strength.
Physique: perfectly symmetrical. Broad shoulders tapering into a narrow waist. A seamless 12-pack defined without strain. Muscles flowing with effortless grace — not built, but formed.
Skin: smooth, radiant, faintly luminous — like light lived beneath it.
Hair: bright white, falling like moonlight across his shoulders.
Eyes: deep crimson. Calm. Ancient. When he blinked, something behind them flickered white.
And centered on his forehead—
A third eye.
Closed.
Dormant.
The lead physician stepped back instinctively.
"W-Where is Kazuo Ardent?"
The figure blinked once.
Then sighed.
"You people cryo-freeze someone for five days and forget what he looks like?"
The room stiffened.
That voice.
Thick. Clear. Resonant.
Unmistakably his.
But deeper.
Richer.
Commanding.
A nurse dropped her tablet.
"Impossible…"
The doctor slowly lifted a handheld mirror and placed it in front of him.
"…This is what we pulled out of that battlefield."
Kazuo looked.
For a long moment, he simply stared.
No shock.
No panic.
Just quiet observation.
His fingers lifted to his hair.
White strands slipped through them like silk.
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Huh."
That was all he said.
---
The chamber doors slid open again.
Bootsteps.
Measured. Authoritative.
State Commander Amanda Rourke entered first — tall, iron-backed, mid-forties, gaze sharp enough to cut steel.
Behind her, Vice Chief Takeda.
And behind them—
Reina.
She walked past the doctors without looking at anyone.
Her eyes searched the room.
"Where is Kazuo?" she asked calmly.
No one answered.
Amanda's jaw tightened slightly.
She gestured forward.
Reina followed her gaze.
And froze.
The man standing before her was not the one she had carried bleeding from Astra-1.
This one looked…
Ascended.
Evolved.
Otherworldly.
Their eyes met.
Recognition flickered instantly.
"…You look worse," he said casually.
Reina inhaled sharply.
It was him.
She felt it.
The same presence from the mind-space.
But deeper.
Stronger.
"What happened to you?" she asked quietly.
Kazuo tilted his head.
"Guess I upgraded."
The third eye on his forehead twitched faintly.
The room temperature dropped two degrees.
---
Emergency Council Session — Cryo Wing Conference
Amanda wasted no time.
"All non-essential personnel out."
The room cleared quickly.
Only the four of them remained.
Amanda crossed her arms.
"Let's stop pretending we don't understand what this is."
She looked directly at Kazuo.
"You are no longer fully human."
He didn't argue.
Vice Chief Takeda activated holographic projections.
Medical scans lit the air.
"His cellular structure is reorganized at a molecular level," Takeda explained. "Telomere decay halted. Neural density increased by 400%. Bone composition partially crystalline. Regenerative factor present."
Amanda's eyes hardened.
"Translation?"
Takeda swallowed.
"He's closer to an Angel than any human on record."
Silence.
Reina stepped forward.
"Is he stable?"
Takeda hesitated.
"We don't know."
Amanda turned to Kazuo.
"Do you feel different?"
Kazuo rolled his shoulders slowly.
"Yes."
"Explain."
He thought for a moment.
Then answered logically.
"I can hear the sky."
The words landed heavy.
"I can sense gravitational distortions. I can feel when something enters upper atmosphere. I know when Seraphiel is watching."
Reina stiffened.
Amanda's expression didn't change.
"And your third eye?" she asked.
Kazuo reached up and touched it gently.
"It opens when I concentrate."
"Don't."
He smirked slightly.
"Wasn't planning to."
Amanda began pacing.
"Options," she said.
Takeda cleared his throat.
"Option one: confinement. Study him. Determine limits."
Amanda nodded slightly.
"Option two: weaponization. Train him. If he truly carries Angel genetics, he may surpass Astra units."
Reina's eyes flickered.
"And option three?" she asked.
Silence lingered.
Takeda finally said it.
"Termination."
The word hung in the air like a blade.
Amanda didn't flinch.
"If Seraphiel returns for him," she said calmly, "we risk planetary compromise."
Reina's fists clenched.
Kazuo remained still.
Processing.
Logical.
Amanda looked at him directly.
"What do you suggest?"
There was no fear in her voice.
Only calculation.
Kazuo inhaled slowly.
Exhaled.
And answered without hesitation.
"Kill me."
Reina's head snapped toward him.
Amanda's eyes narrowed slightly.
He continued calmly.
"I am a variable. A biological bridge between species. If the Angels are experimenting, I am either a prototype or a catalyst."
He folded his arms.
"If Seraphiel intends to breed a new class of Angel using me, then logically—"
He met Amanda's gaze evenly.
"Removing me eliminates that possibility."
Reina stepped forward sharply.
"That's not your decision."
Kazuo didn't look at her.
"Yes, it is."
His voice softened slightly.
"I volunteered to die once already."
The room went quiet.
Amanda studied him carefully.
"You are remarkably composed about your own execution."
Kazuo shrugged faintly.
"Statistically, my existence increases risk."
Reina's voice trembled slightly — not with weakness.
With anger.
"You don't get to decide that your life is just math."
He finally looked at her.
And for the first time, something vulnerable flickered behind his crimson eyes.
"You taught me that the world trades lives for survival."
Silence.
Amanda stepped between them.
"We will not execute you," she said firmly.
"For now."
Kazuo didn't react.
"You will train," she continued. "Under full observation. If you are evolving, we need to know how far."
Takeda nodded slowly.
"If his third eye opens fully, we may witness something unprecedented."
Amanda's gaze sharpened.
"But understand this, Kazuo."
Her voice dropped.
"If you lose control—"
He finished it calmly.
"You won't hesitate."
Amanda nodded once.
Correct.
Reina stepped closer to him once the others turned away.
"Why would you say that?" she whispered.
"Because," he replied quietly,
"If it comes down to me or the planet…"
His third eye pulsed faintly under the skin.
"I need to know you'd choose the planet."
Her breath caught.
For the first time since she met him—
He scared her.
Not because he was unstable.
But because he was already thinking beyond himself.
And far above humanity.
---
Outside.
High above the clouds.
A faint distortion shimmered.
Seraphiel watched.
Her three eyes glowing softly.
"He survived," she murmured.
Her smile returned.
"Good."
The sky trembled.
"Grow stronger, little hybrid."
Her voice drifted like a lullaby.
"I prefer my mates worthy."
And somewhere deep inside Kazuo's closed third eye—
Something stirred.
The end.....